As a musician (i.e., someone who frequently carries large objects up and down stairs), knowing the count is extremely useful to me. A significant portion of the time, I cannot see the ground. Instead of getting close and then feeling around with my foot one step at a time, I can just count to 14 (or whatever it is) and know I'm on the floor.

Even in a new building, it's common to walk the stairs at least once before hauling heavy equipment (to see where it's going to go), so I almost always have a count before I start.

It can be useful for OpenStreetMap, for instance, where you want to have an idea of the height difference between two points. For instance, if you are moving or carrying a large suitcase/stroller to a place you've never been to. Luckily you only have to count it once and fill it in the database, then others will benefit from it.

Isn't he cost of typing that statement out is less than the cost of counting N stairs, where N is usually pretty small?